Episode No. 1 mini-recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK'

The show, also dubbed “TUF: The Smashes,” features Australian fighter George Sotiropoulos and the U.K.’s Ross Pearson as head coaches of their country’s respective teams, which feature a total of eight lightweights and eight welterweights. They compete in a single-elimination tournament during the series, which concludes at UFC on FX 6 on Dec. 15.

FX airs the show in Australia, and ESPN carries the show in the U.K. It’s available online at aus.tuf.tv for the rest of the world beginning Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).

Here are the highlights from episode No. 1:

• The teams are picked, and the fighters enter the “TUF” house for the first time. They are, of course, impressed with their new digs. Lots of colors of the two nations’ flags. We get some short testimonials from most of the fighters, who talk about the early experience of the show. Of course, we have our first prank of the season when the Aussies hide the U.K. team’s gear bags. But in short order, we’re off to the gym.

• UFC President Dana White meets the fighters and tells them who their coaches are. Then he announces he’ll give $5,000 bonuses to any fighter who registers a win via knockout or submission during the tournament. Additionally, $25,000 will be awarded to the season’s best knockout win, best submission win and the best fight.

• Team Australia wins the first coin flip. Sotiropoulous decides to pick the first matchup, and Team UK gets to pick the weight class.

• Dana pays a visit to the “TUF” house, surprising the fighters. He gives them another pep talk. He tells them that no one knows what the top tier UFC fighters make – but hopefully one day they’ll get to find out just how much that is.

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